Of Ladybugs and Tea leaves
by Alatril Carnesr
Summary: Soujiro has been a wanderer for one year, and just when thinks might have been looking up he gets caught in an... unfortunate event of chance. Found by a family, he starts to learn what living really means... in a weird and demented kind of way.
1. Default Chapter

Alatáriël: Hi all! Gets various fruit stuffs thrown at her ACK! NO! Not the pineapples! Minna-san, I can explain! I know you all are mad at me for not spending my time on Chichiri-san, but.. but... Can you ignore THIS face?!

Soujiro: Smiles innocently, not exactly sure why he's here

Fans:.....

Alatáriël: Oh! Come on! Have some faith in your good friend here, ok?... This story might end up a disaster like the Soujiro one! So just be good little readers and review, ne?

Soujiro: By the way, Minna-san, Alatáriël-san has never, and will never own me... despite her numerous attempts with pits filled with pudding I have yet to be caught! Laughs evilly

Alatáriël: OO Sou-kun?.... coughs ANYWAY, instead of keeping him as my personal love-bunny I have hired him on as an actor in my little studio where he'll be paying my way threw college.

Soujiro: Nani? THAT wasn't in the contract!

Alatáriël: Grins Read the fine print, love.

Runs off stage

**Of Ladybugs and Tea leaves**

Chapter one: The beginning of it all

The Day Before

The morning had started exactly as it had everyday (minus days when he woke up in a rain storm) as it had since he left Shishio's care. It had been exactly one year, two months, twenty-one days, thirteen minutes, and ten seconds since that faithful battle with Kenshin Himura.

Soujiro was unaware of this, however, being a full-fledged wanderer, he could barely keep track of what day it was! Forget time, boil it alive, and pickle it with eggs for all he cared. Right now there were more pressing matters at hand... like finding a place to sleep during the oncoming storm... fun, ne?

The ever smiling Tenken didn't have a smile on his face at the moment. The cold soon-to-be fall rains poured down from the heavens, soaking our poor little wanderer. The strong wind wasn't much help neither, nor was the fact the sky was getting darker and darker by the minute.

"Come on, you've been threw much worse weather than this!", Soujiro told his body as his sandal slipped on the now muddy road. 'There has to be a town around here! There just has to be...', the nineteen year old thought to himself, trying to motivate his body forward.

Tomi Ito, a potter extrodinare, was currently walking into town. Two strands of hair that made up his bangs hung in his face as he tried to balance his five new master pieces on both his arms. His fourteen year old daughter, Kuri, trotted along behind him with two additional works in her hands as she tried to keep up with her father's longer strides.

Neither one of them knew what awaited them on the next bend in the road. A humongous landslide sat right in their path. It looked as if Earth herself spat a huge loogie right in their way. Tomi sighed, "Well, it this isn't just the darnedest l-." It was then that he noticed something quite abnormal.

A foot, shoeless, was poking out of the large mass. As it seemed the Earth's loogie had been aimed for someone, and had hit it's target dead on. "Oh dear!", Kuri gasped as she and he father quickly sat down their pottery and set to helping the person who's foot stuck out if the landmass.

A few minutes (and two dirty travelers later) the person, whom had turned out to be a young man, was safely extracted from the mass. As would be expected, he was unconscious. They were glad to discover, however, that he was alive.

"That's strange", said Tomi as he wiped some sweat from his brow. "He's smiling", Kuri commented. Indeed it was so. The scrawny teenager did have a smile in his face, however it was twitching rapidly as if he was subconsciously fighting with his own face. It would have been quite a humorous sight, if only Tomi and Kuri weren't worried that the lack of oxygen in the mound of dirt had given the boy brain damage.

"Kuri, take as many pots you can carry and go back to the house. Tell your mother to get a bed ready, and heat up a bath."

Alatáriël: Sorry it's so short, but I'm "testing the waters" as it were... ;; I do really hope you all

like my story. I'm working hard to get Soujiro in character, so inform me as to how I'm doing, ok?

Soujiro:... You tried to kill me in a land slide?....

Alatáriël: No, Sou-cha--- What are you doing with that katana?!

Soujiro: Tenken smile

Alatáriël: EEK! HAVE MERCY ON SESSHA! runs away

(Actually in reality I see Soujiro Seta as being a very kind and polite individual... whom I would like to see paired up with a certain Weasel... Gets tackled by Aoishi x Misao fans AHHH! HAVE MERCY ON SESSHA!)

Ps. Sorry if the markings didn't show up to seperate actions and words. Forgive this unworthy one. ;;

Alatáriël


	2. Chapter 2

Alatáriël: Yay! Chapter 2, and people are still reading this unworthy one's demented attempt at an Soujiro fic!

Soujiro:... Are you sure they are not all just bored, Alatáriël-san?

Alatáriël: Glares Watch it, Tenken, or I'll make you watch Dora the Explorer again.

Soujiro: Smiles Gotta catch me first! runs off stage

Alatáriël: Grr...

Chapter two: Introductions and a Blender

Had Soujiro been born one-hundred years later he might have described the sensation he was feeling in such ways as getting his brain stuck in a blender, but since that wasn't the case we'll just say he'd woken up in better conditions in the past.

"Uh... My head", Soujiro groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Mommy, he's waking up!", he heard a girl exclaim close to him.

Opening his eyes, Soujiro's eyes were met with wide, curious, and brown ones.

"Honey, give him some breathing room!", A woman in her mid-thirties scolded as she came into the room with a cup of tea in her hands. Sitting down next to the disoriented rurouni, she handed him the cup of tea. "Arigato...ummm?", he asked. "Yuiko Ito. My husband found you laying in the road... How are you feeling, dear?", the woman answered.

"I see... I'm a little dizzy, but I think I'll be ok, Yuiko-san. Ara... I apologise for the inconviniounce.  
My name is Soujiro Seta, by the way", Soujiro replied, taking the tea into his hands as he sat up.  
Yuiko smiled in responce, "No problem, dear. Don't worry. What were you doing out there in a storm like that?".

"Ano... I was trying to get to the next town. Did I get close?", he asked with a small, almost hesitant,  
smile before drinking down the tea he had been offered.

Yuiko eyed the young man in front of her strangely. Something about him perplexed her. His smile, his clothes, and that sad look in his eyes that were pained by something she didn't understand. As a mother of two she was drawn to his boy and his strange smile.

"You were about a half of a mile away", Kuri said, speaking for the first time since Soujiro began to show signs of life.

Soujiro smiled at the young girl, "Ah. I see..."

"My daughter, Kuri Ito", Yuiko introduced just as her husband stepped into the room, caring a bundle of fabric.

"It's very nice to meet you, Kuri-san, Yuiko-san", Soujiro said, smiling a little more confidently as he handed Yuiko back the cup, headache receding. Yuiko nodded, "It's very nice to meet you too, Seta-kun."

With that Yuiko stood up and headed for the door, smiling to her husband as she passed.  
"It's good to see you're alright, Seta-kun. My wife was worried", the man, Tomi, stated as he walked over and took the space his wife had been sitting.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble, sir," Soujiro said.

Tomi just grinned in response, "No trouble, Seta-kun. It's not every day you come across someone buried in a landslide!"

Soujiro's eyes widened, "Landslide? Is that want happened?"

"You don't remember?", Tomi asked. Soujiro shook his head 'no'.

Tomi laughed slightly, "Yes, we were quite worried... I'm sorry to say you managed to lose one of your shoes. You're clothes were completely caked on with mud!"

Soujiro blinked, looking down at his clothing. He was half-expecting to still be in his usual attire, but was instead greeted with a white gi and dark blue hakama pants, much like how his looked over a year ago before constant travel and wear had dulled the colors to a pale blue.

"Oh, I hadn't noticed... I have so much to thank you for, sir", Soujiro stated with a bow.

"You're so polite! By the way, my name is Tomi Ito, not sir", Tomi said.

Soujiro nodded, trying to memorize all the new names he had been greeted with, "It's nice to meet you,  
Tomi-san... Ano, you wouldn't have by any chance saved my bag, would you?"

Tomi frowned, "You had a bag with you? I'm sorry, but you had nothing on you that I could see"  
Soujiro sighed, looking thoughtful, "Is that so?"

Tomi nodded, watching the boy he had saved carefully. This news seemed to sadden him.  
"Father?", a young boy of eight addressed Tomi, peeking into the room from behind the door.  
"Yes, Taru-kun?", Tomi asked.

"Mother says lunch is ready", Taru answered, eyeing the two occupants of the room with slight timidness.  
"We'll be down in a minute, Taru-kun", Tomi stated, standing up. Soujiro followed his lead and also got up. "Well, Seta-kun, let's go get something to eat, shall we?", Tomi asked.

"H-Hai", Soujiro answered, not wanting to seem rude by declining.

With that, the two men made their way out of the room. Soujiro felt awkward leaving a room in a house he hadn't entered consciencely. The second floor, where Soujiro had been staying, also contained two other rooms minus the one he had been in. A set of stairs lead down to the main floor.

The kitchen was the first room he entered. Kuri, Yuiko, and Taru were there, placing food on plates and carrying them into the next room. "Ara...", Soujiro began, wanting to decline lunch and continue on his way. He really didn't want to impose anymore than he already had.

Yuiko, however, had other ideas, "Come on, Seta-kun. You're all skin and bones! Honestly, doesn't your mother feed you!"

Soujiro felt his face twitch involuntarily at those words. "Actually...", he paused not sure how to word it in the least awkward way, "I'm a wanderer. Any family that I may have ever had is... not here"  
Soujiro cringed slightly at his wording, 'I don't think I worded that well.'

Yuiko and Tomi looked at him, surprised, "A wanderer, you say? You don't see many wanderers now a days..." "Yes, that's quite a hard life", Yuiko added.

As the two adults turned to head into the living room Tomi turned and added, "Hopefully you'll find some rest here, at least for the time being. Let's eat now, before the food get's cold, Seta-kun"  
"Hai", Soujiro answered, following them. If he'd known what was waiting for him just around the corner he might have just ran out the door then and there.

Alatáriël: Arg! I bet you all are bored because of all the talking. heh. Gomen ne, but it's needed for the story line. ;;

Soujiro: frowns cutely You're going to make people lose interest in the story at this rate.

Alatáriël: I know, Sou-chan. --... but hey! I did get reviews last chapter!

Soujiro: sweatdrops Yeah, six...

Alatáriël: Glares Be quite, you! Coughs Anyhow, For this chapter I'd like to thank...

Yuna: looks where Soujiro used to be ORO! Oi! You can't take him... or... or... or else I'll kill him off in my fic! (Soujiro: OO;; NANI!) coughs Or I could make him a sissy? (Soujiro: )  
As for what kind of fic is this? Why of course it's my attempt at Tenken fan-conversion! Salutes Hitler style LONG LIVE SOU-CHAN!

Chikky-chan : Yes.. I do not plan on going easy on our poor little Tenken. cackles He's going to have to work for his "truth". BWA HA HA!

K-chan: Thanks! I'm going my best, and I'll be adding chapters as long as people keep reviewing!  
Slow Motion Runner: Ha ha. Why thank you! Sorry this chapter wasn't too funny, but I'm trying to build up some plot and character introduction, but I do promise more humor soon, so please keep with me here!

Soujirou's Girl: Grins Isn't Sou-chan just the greatest? I keep trying to tell people they should make a "Rurouni Soujiro", but... No luck yet. ;; Anyhow, please tell me what you think of Sou-chan! I'm doing my best at trying to make him seem realistic, but I'm afraid his character is SUPPER hard to write when he's not a happy-go-lucky Tenken anymore.

Burnt Up Old Sausage: Ah! Sausage-san! Thank you so much for reviewing! I love your stories. You're totally right! There is no such thing as too much Sou-chan! I'm very happy to hear you like my story so far (hopefully this chapter wasn't too bad ). I'm doing my best to keep it interesting.

Alatáriël: Once again I'd like to thank my reviewers! You're comments mean a lot to me (and decide if I continue this fic or not), so please review even if all you have to say is "Great!" or "Go die". LOL. However, I do not think Sou-chan would take the second too well...

Soujiro: Tenken smile

Alatáriël: twitches slightly 


End file.
